News

Taking Measures for the Health and Well-Being of Our Community

Through these unprecedented weeks, all Trees Atlanta employees have continued to work from home or outdoors while observing careful social distancing and safety guidelines. Our staff and crew have continued to work with significant modifications. We are striving to be creative and modifying our volunteer, education, and community programs to keep our community engaged — while we are apart. Many programs are being hosted in virtual formats, and sadly some programs have been postponed and a few canceled.

We miss our volunteers and community very much. Meanwhile, we are actively evaluating when and how we can safely re-engage volunteers. For the moment, here are updates to our operations:

All in-person group volunteer projects, programs, and events are canceled through May 16.

A few volunteers are volunteering-at-home helping us deliver virtual programs and providing other technical expertise. We greatly appreciate their assistance in helping us to navigate and move forward into new ways to work.

There will be a very limited range of outdoor tasks that we will allow trained and experienced volunteers to participate in, such as solo pruning, distanced mulching, or watering activities, for example. If you observe staff and/or volunteers in the field, note these events have been carefully planned to allow us to complete necessary and essential work while observing all safety guidelines. The work opportunities are not open for general volunteer sign up for the time being.

If you are a Green Shirt volunteer, TreeKeeper/Certified Volunteer, or other volunteer with specific expertise and would like to discuss possible volunteer activities, please email susan@treesatlanta.org.

New virtual education events, including webinars for kids and adults, are added to our website regularly. Check out our Virtual Youth Education daily activities and view the Calendar of Events for Virtual Adult Education programs.

On behalf of the entire Trees Atlanta staff, board, and leadership, thank you for your support throughout the years. We’re so grateful for supporters like you, who, even in trying times, allow us the flexibility and security to continue our 35-year commitment to the city we love. We are also thankful for those who have and continue to sacrifice so much to keep us all safe.

As our staff continues to focus on the fulfillment of our mission, our primary objective is their wellbeing and safety. Trees Atlanta’s mission has not changed, but the way we accomplish it has. We have enacted several protocols to ensure that we are able to keep Atlanta’s urban forest thriving as we protect our loyal volunteers and passionate staff.

Our youth educators continue to shape our next environmentalists through e-classroom visits. Administrative staff is pursuing every available funding outlet to ensure financial stability into the future. Our program teams are using collaborative mobile technology to survey and plan for the next years’ projects. When it’s necessary to work onsite each employee is outfitted with CDC-recommended personal protective equipment. Our entire staff is also following social distancing protocols.

Our team’s off-the-clock wellbeing is equally important to us. We’ve been approved for the Paycheck Protection Program which will support our staffing expenses over the near term. We also just wrapped up our first-ever virtual plant sale. The response was overwhelming, raising funds to help support our programming. Our first-ever mobile pruning seminars are being hosted in late April, with many more classes being planned for the future. Our annual spring gala, The Root Ball, has been postponed to ensure the safety of staff, corporate partners, and supporters. We’ve taken these challenges as an opportunity to ensure Trees Atlanta’s brand and reputation remain strong.

For all of the hardships that COVID-19 has caused, we are optimistic that it’s also provided us a unified perspective. We are all in this fight together, we each have a part to play, and we are in awe of the selflessness of all of the front-liners who keep us safe. Through education, tree planting, and stewardship of our urban forest, Trees Atlanta remains committed to creating a healthier Atlanta for all. We thank you for your support and because of it, we will come away from this stronger and more focused than ever. We hope that you and your family remain safe and healthy.

Sincerely,

Connie Veates and Greg Levine

Update: April 8, 2020

All group volunteer projects, programs, and events will be canceled (or rescheduled) through April 30.

We are adding new virtual education events, including webinars for kids and adults. Check out our Virtual Youth Education daily activities and view the Calendar of Events for Virtual Adult Education programs.

If you ordered plants, please check your email (including categories or spam folders) for important information about scheduling pickup timeslots.

Orders with Local Delivery will be scheduled via email. We are sending out messages to help schedule a time that works best for you and our delivery route.

Thank you everyone for the amazing support you showed up by supporting our annual Native Plant Sale — Virtual Edition!

Originally published on March 17, 2020

Our goal is to improve the well-being of our community. The mission of Trees Atlanta is in service of people’s health and welfare through the conservation of our urban forest. During this period of quickly evolving updates and guidance regarding COVID-19, we are taking steps to help “flatten the curve” by limiting social interactions for the well-being of our community.

Here are some steps that we are practicing moving forward until further notice:

All group volunteer projects, programs, and events will be canceled (or rescheduled) through March 28. If you’ve registered for a project and have not received an update, please check our website for information.

Our Calendar of Events will be updated with event statuses. Find your specific event and read the event description for information.

We will suspend our youth education programs, including school visits and field trips, while local school systems are closed.

We will continue working. We have taken steps to enable employees to safely continue working, including working from home or shifting to work outdoors with appropriate social distancing. Due to these accommodations, please understand that your voicemail or email to employees may take a bit longer to be answered.

We discourage visitors to our facilities unless necessary for business continuity. If you have a need to come to our offices, please contact the staff member you are meeting in advance.

Help us maintain proper social distancing. Maintain a distance of 6 feet or greater from each other whether outdoors or indoors. Still uncertain about events or have further questions? Please send an email to info@treesatlanta.org. We’ll reply to your questions as quickly as possible.

Trees Atlanta is monitoring the status of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and putting into place prevention and preparedness measures with the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local, state, and federal agencies. Trees Atlanta is an organization that is deeply connected to our community, and we’ll keep you informed of any significant changes in our organization’s response.

In the coming days, we hope you keep in mind that the outdoors may offer a welcomed refuge while you self-quarantine. Work in your garden. Take a walk in the woods. Finally get around to removing the English ivy climbing up your tree. Sit outside and sketch. Above all, take care of yourself, wash your hands, and remember: it will be ok.

1. Magnolia Collection

Magnolias are part of an ancient lineage of flowering plants dating back approximately 95 million years. The Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum is home to 18 types of magnolias from evergreen to flowering. Two magnolias in particular have witnessed history as they were planted just beyond the outfield wall for the former Ponce de Leon Park, where the Atlanta Crackers played baseball. Babe Ruth and Eddie Matthews both hit home runs that were caught in the canopy of one of these magnolia trees. As part of Arboretum experimentation, we have taken cuttings from these historic magnolias and grown them into new trees so that this piece of history can live on the Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum and in new parks and baseball fields around Atlanta.

2. 33 Oaks

The oak trees on this slope and throughout the Arboretum represent many ecosystems in Georgia, from bottomland hardwood swamps to granite outcrops. Of the approximately 90 species of oaks native to the United States, 33 are native to Georgia. All 33 oaks are growing on this slope and between them dance 33 stainless steel leaf sculptures – one for each tree.

These metal oaks were designed and crafted by David Landis of Landis Sculpture Studio. Learn more about David’s work here.

3. Beech Circle

Among the stateliest of our native trees, beeches are indicative of a mature forest. Though they can take around 40 years to produce a large quantity of nuts, beech trees are critical for wildlife. Beeches provide food and shelter for all kinds of birds and mammals, such as the red-headed woodpecker. Dubbed the fairy ring, the circle of beech trees here surrounds a granite outdoor classroom and gathering place where you can contemplate how the beech trees will look in 3, 5, and 10 years!

4. Eastside Azalea Collection

Despite the native azalea holding the title of Georgia’s State Wildflower, it is underused in the landscape. The Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum is now home to the largest public native azalea collection in the Atlanta Area with over 300 azaleas on display. The collection highlights over 25 species, cultivars, and varieties, and is home to all 13 azaleas native to the state of Georgia. This collection focuses on named cultivars (varieties that have been selected for depending on color, size, bloom time, etc.) within two series called the Georgia Moon Series and the Sunrise to Sunset Series. The Georgia Moon Series will have fragrant white-blooming Georgia native species, and the Sunrise to Sunset Series will be comprised of Georgia native species in warm orange, reds, and soft yellows blooming from March – July.

5. Stumpery Garden

This stumpery garden will be a horticultural oddity, serving as a public place for learning and exploration and demonstrating how trees can be utilized in a beautiful way. Stumpery gardens utilize dead, fallen, and storm-damaged trees as an asset to the garden – providing critical habitat for beetles, frogs, birds, and small mammals such as chipmunks. Whole logs are placed upside down to display their root structure, and logs, branches, and pieces of bark are arranged to form walls and archways. Plants such as ferns, lichen, mosses, soft grasses, and trailing plants are encouraged to grow on and around them.

6. Westside Azalea Collection

Different from the Eastside collection, the Westside collection has all straight species and natural varieties that encourage free hybridization. These azaleas are all grown from seed so there are many variations in the hues even between the same species.

7. Persimmon Woods

Home to the largest American persimmon tree in the state of Georgia, this remnant old growth forest on 1.3 acres provides habitat to a variety of deep forest flora. Walking through a nature trail and over a few bridges will bring you up close and personal with woodland groundcovers, rare spring ephemerals (plants with a short life cycle) such as trillium, and a large collection of native woody species. Enjoy the seasonal blooms, learn from plant identification signs, and get hands-on with volunteer opportunities to plant, divide woodland perennials, and collect seed.